I heard that argument before. Legitimizing one‘s own drug abuse for „medical reasons“ to make it socially acceptable.

Everyone is on some kind of spectrum and both people I had arguments with about your point of view - are both dead now thanks to overdosing.

I think the medical profession has a reason to exist and I‘d rather see people using professionals to treat their conditions than self-experimenting with possible fatal substances.

You don't know the definition of drug abuse if that's what you think this is. I do agree that the medical profession has a reason to exist, and I would very much prefer to receive this treatment from a doctor, but doctors are not currently allowed to prescribe it; even psilocybin (where legal) can only be administered under professional supervision, and is currently approved only for psychedelic therapy, not for ADHD treatment.

There's a lot we don't understand about these substances, but I have overwhelming evidence from experience that what it does for me is something that helps. I'm sorry to hear about the overdoses.

Yeah, you're wrong. There's a huge difference between psychedelics and "party drugs". Stop fearmongering with undifferentiated "I know someone who knows someone" arguments

It's understandable if you've never tried psychedelics yourself, and probably not hanging out with people who have.

But that safety promise goes for the ones we have plenty of experience with, especially the naturals; once you start putting random substances in your body, all bets are off.

What safety promise? There is no promise of safety here. Part of being a responsible user is understanding that safety cannot be guaranteed; one can only attempt to minimize risk. That's the guiding principle behind the concept of harm reduction.

Making sure you're actually taking what you intend to take is indeed very important, because if it's something else, that indeed would be random and you might not only apply the wrong strategy, but take an incorrect dose as well; the correct dose may be "none" if it is a toxic or lethal substance.

But even when you know exactly what you're taking and what are the risks involved, you can't guarantee safety; no one can. This is important to understand. An incorrect understanding can lead to reckless behavior that will get you killed.

You're typically not going to kill yourself with weed or shrooms, or a lot of other well researched psychedelics. It may well get uncomfortable, but not dangerous.

Under psilocybin, certain smells can make me suddenly lose consciousness. Due to this, while trying some out at the start of this year, I fainted while exiting the bathroom and woke up with a head injury that required staples in order to close.

Sure, it wasn't the drug itself's fault; all it did was make me sensitive to smell, and then the smell made me faint. I had been fine for something like 8 hours since having taken it. But stuff like this is a risk with psychedelics. If I had fallen slightly differently I probably could've died.

I took the other half of the psilocybin about a week later in order to process the trauma; I figured out the reason for the fainting when I walked past the bathroom again and felt like it was about to happen again. Pretty crazy if you ask me.

I guess the moral of the story is that you really can't expect anything to be perfectly safe even if it won't kill you on its own.

Wild, thanks for sharing. One theory would be that it increased your sensitivity to something in that area. I have a hard time seeing that just a memory would make you faint again.

Look, nothing in this world is guaranteed to be completely safe. We take risks all the time, otherwise we wouldn't get out of bed.

Never heard of anything like it though, so I'm going to assume it's not very common.

> I have a hard time seeing that just a memory would make you faint again.

It wasn't a memory; I had to physically be near the source of the smell in order for it to happen, so it indeed seems like what changed was the body's sensitivity to some component of the scent. Maybe something like ammonia since it was cat pee.

> Look, nothing in this world is guaranteed to be completely safe. We take risks all the time, otherwise we wouldn't get out of bed.

Of course. I accept risks all the time.

> Never heard of anything like it though, so I'm going to assume it's not very common.

I've never heard of it happening to anyone else. I've heard of death by overdose of course, and I had certainly taken quite a lot, but I have never heard of someone being completely fine until a mere scent knocks them unconscious (especially when they wouldn't even perceive the scent normally).

LSD is also a party drug. You may be referring instead to hard drugs, which are so called because they create physical dependence, psychological addiction, or brain damage (or all of the above).

LSD is technically legally considered a hard drug, because it has the potential to trigger schizophrenia and psychosis in individuals who are in any way predisposed to such; it also is legally classified as a hallucinogen, and all of which are classified as hard drugs, legally speaking.

However, non-legally speaking, I don't consider it a hard drug because it doesn't cause dependence, addiction, or brain damage that is detectable; despite the relative lack of professional research into the substance, there is at least decent evidence that it is not literally neurotoxic. With that said, the potential psychological effects are not to be underestimated, and the experience of a bad trip can cause significant damage purely through the emotional trauma of it.

Practically speaking, there's little difference between being prescribed the substance by a doctor and administering the substance myself, other than that the responsibility of managing my regimen would fall to the doctor rather than myself; however, I'd technically prefer to get this stuff from the pharmacy because then I'd know it's not adulterated, but I can just do reagent tests at home for now.

I would be happy to move to a prescribed treatment if ever this treatment is able to be offered by prescription; that aside, however, my own due diligence is sufficient for my needs and is not likely to result in a fatal overdose. I can't be entirely confident that it's impossible of course, but I can have a high degree of confidence that I'm not putting myself in significant danger right now.

The slippery slope argument doesn't entirely apply here, as I've actually tried other hard drugs (benzos, opioids, dissociatives, etc.) and could never really get into them (with the exception of benzos which I had to stop filling). I understand how they become addictive for others, but I don't really think I'm personally interested in them. What's more addictive for me isn't a body high but the ability to fully utilize my mind, which is what LSD does for me. It makes me feel as if I'm not limited like I am normally, which is incredibly refreshing.

The big differentiator for me is possible harm and addiction. Psychedelics don't typically bring both (I am under the impression, that we actually don't really know how schizophrenia and psychosis relates or is triggered by psychedelics, that was my impression of recent research). Using crack, heroin etc. and "designer drugs" etc. is a whole other thing. Safety of consumption is just on another level for both classes. Even with "designer" psychedelics that are just added molecules. Tbh I don't know about any totally and weird synthetic psychedelics, I'm assuming shrooms, LSD/AL-LAD (which are both of course synthetic as well), mescaline, ibogaine, and DMT essentially. I hope everyone reading get's the distinction I'm trying to make.

Yes, I understand. Serotonergic psychedelics are typically not big sources of addiction, and they typically only cause great harm if taken incorrectly or by someone with a genetic predisposition towards schizophrenia or psychosis; though even then, the harm is only really psychological (but it can be permanent).

Please do note, however, that there are psychedelics which are not serotonergic psychedelics, such as psychedelic amphetamines. These are not typically nearly as safe, just as amphetamines in general typically are not particularly safe when used incorrectly.

As someone with ADHD and a cardiovascular system that does not like stimulants (I don't have any health issues, it's just that low doses don't do much to my brain and even medium doses make my HR/BP excessively high)... Mind sharing any resources to learn more about this? Or details on what you take yourself?

I found out this week that I apparently have the exact same reaction to stimulants to you lol (or to Elvanse anyway). Do you know if you respond better to other kinds of ADHD medication? I recognise that drugs that are generally less legal can be beneficial for some people but I would personally not like to go down that route if possible

Dextroamphetamine (or lisdexamfetamine as in Elvanse/Vyvanse) isn't the only stimulant medication; there is also Ritalin (methylphenidate). You may also want to look into generic non-prodrug dextroamphetamine, typically called dexedrine - different brands, too; in my area there are Actavis/Teva capsules as well as Mallinckrodt capsules, and only the Mallinckrodt capsules work well for me.

There are also non-stimulant medications, such as Wellbutrin (bupropion; an atypical antidepressant that is known to help in certain cases of ADHD). I've also heard of SSRIs potentially helping, but I would not recommend them because of their long-term effects (they can damage serotonin receptors permanently).

Plenty of legal options if you haven't already tried them yet. Obviously, please discuss them with a real doctor if you intend to look into them.

Thank you, I will of course discuss them with a medical professional. I was given a few Elvanse from a family member who found it wasn't working for them, just to see if it affected me in a positive way, but I've found after taking a couple of doses (20mg, 40 then 20 again over three days) that it hasn't really affected me much mentally (apart from me writing really long paragraphs now and obsessively fixing capitalisation?), and I've been feeling a worrying amount of heart palpitations. I recognise that it probably wasn't incredibly bright to do this, but I'm starting to get really impatient at how long it's taking to get professional help (it's like I've got ADHD or something lol). I'm also not honestly that surprised that it didn't work so well, given how genetic ADHD is

I'm still waiting on actually getting to talk to a doctor about a prescription, because supply issues and the speed of the NHS, and I also have to take an ECG, which I didn't think I needed but after this experience, I absolutely think I need lol. I think they're going to trial me on methylphenidate first, assuming the ECG lets me, but I'll bring up the other options you recommended as well. Thanks!

I would like to let you know that typical starting dosages of dextroamphetamine are usually in the 2.5–15mg/day range, so taking 20mg and 40mg could have way overshot your therapeutic window. Taking too much will end up not helping.

> I'm also not honestly that surprised that it didn't work so well, given how genetic ADHD is

It's not necessarily just that ADHD is genetic as much as it is that ADHD is pathological. It affects your whole brain. Sometimes stimulants really do help, because dopamine and/or norepinephrine can absolutely be possible culprits for entire brain dysfunction, but if you happen to have another root cause for the disorder then they might not particularly help.

Still, you can't necessarily rule it out just by taking 20mg and then 40mg; it may be possible that a lower dose could still help you.

That's weird... I was given the remains of a prescription which only had 20, 30 and 40 pills, nothing any lower. Would taking too much also have no effect? It feels like it should have too much effect, however that would manifest.

Having a quick look at wikipedia, the source of all correct knowledge, it looks like 50mg of lisdexamfetamine dimesylate (elvanse used in oral capsules) is roughly equivalent to 20mg of dextroamphetamine sulfate or 15mg of free base dextroamphetamine, which is backed up by its citation at medicines.org.uk, so 20 lis would be like 6 dex

I meant the genetic stuff because the person that gave them to me was close family, and I suspect another close family member has it too, so I'd guess it would present and potentially be helped in similar ways between us, as well as having similar side effects

You are right, Vyvanse/Elvanse comes in 20,30,40mg. Dextroamphetamine has a different dosage.

> Having a quick look at wikipedia, the source of all correct knowledge,

[citation needed] (/s)

> Would taking too much also have no effect?

It's not that it has no effect, it's that the effect it has can stop treating the ADHD at too high a dose, if that makes any sense.

I take Focalin (dexmethylphenidate). A low dose of it is enough for me to do the needful. I also track my blood pressure regularly and it’s still well in the healthy range while taking it.

YMMV, of course.

Atomoxetine would be an option.

I can't in good conscience recommend this treatment to anyone else because my limited understanding is that I am a very rare exception to the general rule that LSD is a very risky thing to take, especially on a regular basis.

Since taking it results in a psychedelic trip, it can be extremely easy for that to backfire and result in a very negative and potentially traumatic experience, commonly referred to as a bad trip.

It's also typically intoxicating; not quite to the level of alcohol, but enough to mess with your sense of balance and ability to speak coherently.

I know this from personal experience - this did not start out as an ADHD treatment for me; it started out as a recreational activity, and required the same amount of investment as psychedelic use typically does. I used to hallucinate (mildly) and be at risk of having a bad trip if anxiety took over. The first time I took this, I had HPPD for the following two weeks; the experience was actually quite comforting for me, but it's important to note that risk as well.

However, over time, even only using it every two to three weeks, my brain gradually became tolerant to its effects. I believe there's some sort of permanent tolerance that isn't documented on PsychonautWiki, which was my primary source of info about the substance; on a couple occasions, I've gone over a month between doses, and it's never quite been as intense as the first time I ever took it, even if I were to take more than before.

I don't know if this happens for everyone. I really do not. I cannot guarantee or even suggest that it would happen to you or anyone if one were to reproduce these steps. There is a lack of study-backed research that exists in this area; this substance really is not especially well understood except by recreational users, and even then, they are only aware of and able to share anecdotes about its effects on themselves individually. Anyone who claims to know whether or not LSD would be safe for you is lying.

But, I will tell you what I am doing, for the express purpose of academic curiosity. Perform your own research into anything that you are ever curious about trying, and please do not take my comment as a suggestion that this will work for you; it would likely not.

I take dextroamphetamine (dexedrine), which I am prescribed for ADHD by my doctor. I take LSD while this drug is still in my body; that is, I mix them. I started the dexedrine before I ever started taking LSD, but I have always been on dexedrine even while dosing LSD. I find that, on its own, dexedrine does not fully help with the ADHD anymore, at least not like it once did; however, combined with LSD, my brain seems to just work, and I finally feel in full control of my actions.

My doctor is aware that I use LSD in this way. He professionally recommends against it because he cannot guarantee that it is safe, but he understands that I find it helpful. Obviously, you should generally not tell medical professionals that you regularly do illegal drugs; I trust my doctor to a great degree, and he seems to trust me, too.

This more frequent usage (i.e. more frequent than a couple times a month) started slightly over a week ago, when I took this stuff to help myself process the resultant trauma from being hit by a truck and nearly dying about a week prior. It felt incredible to me how much it helped, not only with processing the trauma, but even just with general cognition, language, and executive function; I started taking it about every other day for a couple times, then switched to taking a small non-microdose (100–200μg) every morning. I take my dexedrine in the evening, right before I go to sleep; my dose is 30mg per day.

By the way, without getting into LSD or even alternative medicine in general, it's important to note that different drug manufacturers produce different products even when it's supposed to be the same drug. Actavis/Teva produces dexedrine that I can't take because it immediately puts me into a hypertensive crisis, but Mallinckrodt makes stuff that I can take 30mg/day of and nonetheless maintain a completely normal blood pressure. (My doctor takes it every visit, so he would have told me a long time ago if it were abnormal.)

I would always recommend the prescription route if possible, just because it does lessen the burden on you and it also somewhat lessens your responsibility. I am responsible for my own self, and involving non-prescription drugs means that I need to pay a lot closer attention to their effects in order to ensure that I'm not harming my health. Sometimes this is not worth the effort, especially if the responsibility can't be properly handled for whatever reason.